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The Beauty of the Written Word

While I was growing up, our home was filled with all sorts of fascinating books which fueled my interest in learning. Our kids seem to have inherited our “book” gene and they both love to leaf through books regularly.

Yesterday, my son Caleb and I had a lovely day together out-and-about, with the highlights of the day being a visit to the Chapters bookstore and our local library.

I love the fascination of a child over things we as adults have forgotten are fun. A case in point being Caleb’s request to go up and down the escalator at Chapters. His eyes opened wide with excitement every time we reached the top or the bottom just so he could dramatically jump off saying “look mummy, I’m spiderman!”

After his escalator escapades, Caleb planted himself firmly on the floor surrounded by a pile of books. When I suggested that he could move to a chair, he simply responded “but mummy, I have to be close to the books” and continued reading while on the floor.

As I wandered through the aisles keeping a motherly eye on him, I watched passersby slowing down as they noticed Caleb. They smiled and chuckled at this young boy in the middle of the floor, his head buried in books. I felt really proud of him for his thirst for knowledge and I am constantly amazed by the attention span he has for a 4 year old.

As we made our way home for lunch and then out again to the library, we spent an hour or so reading. As I lifted my head and took in the many rows and rows of books, I felt so grateful that my children have access to a plethora of riveting books that will form the basis of their knowledge, capture their imagination and be embedded in their memories.

My gosh! Malaika this post reminds me of my own childhood. Indeed, it is even the basis for my very first blog: The Gems In Our Lives. Even the other day, when my wife and I took our kids to the library, as we read and played chess, I thought of keeping them in a bubble forever (if it were possible)… the kind a library provides. Thank you for this touching post!

Thanks so much! Yes, I love the idea of a library tradition. We didn’t really have libraries growing up in Kenya so our home was like a library all of its own thanks to my parents! That’s so lovely that you have such great childhood memories!😊